Hexagon Season Again

In spite of having had very nice weather for a long time, – and nice means sunshine on this usually very wet coast, – spring is still some way off, it seems. As soon as the sun dips below the horizon, temperatures drop and the frost bites again.

But there are moments, – like this afternoon, – when it is possible, even enjoyable, to sit outdoors and sew.

I am working on my “let’s-find-out-if-it-is-possible-to-join-hexagon-flowers-without-folding-the-paper-templates” project. I have cracked the code on how to, but have not written up the instructions yet.

Since this is my out-of-doors project, it is slow going.

If the nice weather continues for some days, I should be able to get some more sewing done, as it is too early to do any gardening.

A bunch of snowdrops are blooming, plus three crocuses, – the rest is still under the snow at the moment.

The sunshine is nice, though, and if it could just stop snowing and freezing in between, we could have real spring in quite a short time.

Eldrid

It’s Cold

The weather has been cold and clear lately, – perfect for the growing of ice crystals.  The pictures below are a small part of the result of two ten minute photo safaris in our garden area, – one yesterday, and one today.  Choosing which pictures to show out of the two hundred or so, took much longer than shooting them.

The crystals have grown quite big, – they are almost like small plants with leaf rosettes, and they are everywhere on grassy areas.

On the tree stump, a bit higher off the ground, they are not quite so big.

The small heather plants are nearly covered by ice crystal “plants”.

They tend to “grow” in clumps.

As happened with the star crystals last week, I am reluctant to step on any of these wonders.

But it is impossible to move without doing so.

When stepping on to the grass, you can hear a faint sound, as if millions of miniature glasses fall and break.

… or like you are wading through heaps of tiny, tiny glass shards.

Below are some more photos, – I couldn’t stop myself  …  

On some of the photos I have tweaked the contrast quite a bit to better show off the fabulous patterns.

The last photo below, I also turned to gray scale. Some of the crystals are very, very thin and transparent.

I hope all of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the winter time.

Eldrid

Falling Stars

The weather has been very good lately, – what snow there was around Christmas rained away, and this last week the weather has been cold and clear, with no snow on the ground.

As we drove home early this afternoon, the skies were gray, and we noticed a few tiny white specs falling through the air.

Walking from the garage to the house, I suddenly stopped short, exclaiming: There are stars on the ground!

I immediately put my bag down and got my camera out.

Please don’t step on any of them before I have taken some photos, I asked my husband.

Then I had to laugh at the impossibility of my own request; -  the stars were everywhere, and we could not move without stepping on several at a time.

There was more than enough both to photograph and to walk on.

They were all over the wooden steps…

… and on the grass…

… and on the cold stones.

We do not often see snow crystals like this here, – most often the snow comes down in big flurries, – not tiny stars like these.

We were lucky to spot them when we did. A few minutes later it was raining.

Just a few tiny drops, however, – and then we got a little bit more snow. But not stars this time.

Does walking on stars mean good luck?

I hope so.

Eldrid

A Trip to Town, – and Be Warned: More Ice

It has been raining for a few days now, and for once, the rain has been very welcome.  Most times we complain about rainy weather, as we think we get way too much of it, but at this stage almost anything is better than more snow.

A couple of days before the weather turned, I made a trip into town. The occasion was my biannual mammogram, and then I also took the opportunity to run some other errands, like taking my new computer back in, to check why it did not connect with our other computers, – and maybe also get a new printer. Fabric shopping was not in the original plans, – but who can resist dropping in on the almost-next-door quilt shop while waiting for the computer to be fixed (- or that’s what I thought it would be, anyway)?

A trip out of here always starts with a ferry crossing. Because of the recent snow storm, the sea was a bit rough, but calmed down closer to the mainland. As we neared the landing, I suddenly heard some unusual banging and crashing. Looking out, I saw we were passing through an area of drift ice, – the ice further into the fjord had been broken up by the waves caused by the recent storm, and was now drifting out towards the sea.

It happens from time to time that ice can be a problem for traffic in this area, but not very often.

The sea gulls seemed to enjoy having some new perches while on the lookout for food, though.

During the 80 kilometer drive, there is a lot to see along the road, and this time I was on my own and not in a hurry, so I had time to stop and take pictures as often as I wished. Higher temperatures had been forecast, so I though perhaps this might be my last chance this winter to photograph some of the ice formations along the road sides.

With the kind of temperatures we have been “blessed” with this winter, every small or larger water trickle has frozen to ice.

Icicles are hanging off the cliffs everywhere along the road sides.

Sometimes it looks almost as if a monster has opened its mouth, baring its long and sharp fangs.

Some places that do not usually have a noticeable waterfall, now sport large cascades of ice:

One would think that having had almost no rain for months, these trickles would dry up, but some of them seem to have an endless supply of water coming from one place or other, and they grow and grow..

… and grow…

There are also really large waterfalls to be seen from the road, and they are especially impressive in their frozen state:

Some people climb frozen waterfalls like this, just for the sport, or thrill, or whatever it is that drives them, – but I am more than content just looking at them. I would not dare to risk any of my limbs by stepping onto something like this:

However, the colours are magnificent. Imagine the early morning sun shining onto this frozen waterfall, – that could have been the inspiration for this quilt that I made 17 years ago:

Blue greens have always been favourite colours of mine, so maybe that is why I am so fascinated by ice. However, the sight of the green masses if ice can also trigger quite different associations. It suddenly crossed my mind that it looks like Mother Earth is having a severe cold, and has mislaid all of her handkerchiefs:

Ick!!

I guess we have all been five years old at some time, and that young person still pops its head up now and then

I will have to make an effort to think of it as just frozen water, so I will not be put off by greens in the future.

Ice formations are everywhere, not just by the road sides, but all the way up the mountain sides. When the temperature rises, they melt away from the rocks and fall down, and they can be a real danger to passers by on the road underneath, – and so are avalanches. Two days after I took the photo above a young woman had a narrow escape as her car was buried under an avalanche close to where I was standing when I took the photo.

This was taken on my way home in the early evening, and the setting sun adds an extra glow to the landscape, and to man made structures.

The water that seeps out everywhere is also the main source of most of the elecric power produced in this country.  This area has quite a few plants which produce hydroelectricity….

… a fact that is difficult to hide.

But we like to keep warm.

I almost forgot to show you what I bought in the quilt shop. When thinking about it afterwards, I was a bit surprised that none of the fabrics had the least resemblance of ice or snow, – instead they were rather summery:

Cute, pink roses.

No project planned for these yet, but they are delicious to look at.

Ok, – one blue green fabric,  but only because it was on sale.

—–

It is snowing again.

Eldrid

This Winter

. . . . has been an unusual one here in our part of the world. All kinds of old records have fallen en masse, – or at least that is the impression we get from everyone who talks about it in the media and elsewhere.  It is also the impression we get from experiencing it personally, – to the extent that we might almost be tempted to misquote some state leaders and name it “the Mother of All Winters”, or perhaps “The Winter to End All Winters”.

We would not wish the last quotation to come true, though, – not really. We have to be responsible and consider the polar bears, of course. But other than that, one might be tempted, especially as the only sign of it ever ending, is the date and month on the calendar. And then I can almost hear in my mind The Winter snorting: “Calendar? What is that? Never heard of it, – not this year, anyway.”

Luckily, as January was on its coldest, and everyone scrambled to post photos of their digital thermometers showing record low temperatures, we had our trusty, level headed, meteorologists appearing on television and telling us that: “Oh, this is really nothing to be excited about, – it is just a good old winter like we had back in the fifties and sixties”.

I was very relieved to hear that, as it confirmed that my memory is perhaps not as bad as I have suspected it to be in recent years. I thought I remembered that we had lots of snow when I was a child, that we were skiing, tobogganing, kicksledding, and skating for months on end, that the ridges of snow along the side of the road were taller than me, (of course, that could also be due to the fact that I was not very tall myself when I was 4 or 5), and that it took  all of the month of May and the best part of June for the roads to dry up after the snow had melted.

However, on hearing this, my youngest daughter gently reminded me: ” – lots of people do not remember the sixties, let alone the fifties,  – some of us were not even born till long after the sixties.”

She is right, of course, – so at least half the population have a genuine right to be excited about personal lowest temperatures, personal deepest snow, etc.   And this winter has been lacking in neither.

Of course, it has also been very beautiful, and the weather has been very nice a lot of the time, – nice meaning a clear sky, cold, and just a little wind, if any. Almost no wind is a rarity in itself in these parts of the country, especially for the winter months.

The usual thing here on the west coast is for the snow to fall, then there is rain to wash it away, or partly away, – some cold to freeze the remains, if any, into ice, -  new snow, then the rain, …. and so on, – along with a lot of strong winds, of course.  Another variety that we have had quite often in recent years, is rain, rain, and rain, – and storms, – all through December, January, and February, and then one or two huge snowfalls in March.

People usually sigh and keep saying: “If only the snow could stay put once it has come down, and we have finished shovelling it!” (And some also wish it would come readily shoveled).

Well, this winter it did stay, – even if it had to be shoveled first.

We had one huge snowfall just after Christmas…

… which was not washed away by rain, – just sunk and evaporated, but not quite:

Then another quite large snowfall in February, – to top it up again:

And in between, the sun has been shining a lot.

The ground has not been clear of snow for nearly three months now, and that is very rare around here. People are now getting very tired of winter, – I am getting very tired of winter, – and we all long for the spring to come.

It is nowhere to be seen, however, – especially not today when a new snow storm hit us and we could barely look out of the windows:

While we are waiting, I plan to dump some more winter stuff on my blog here.  Then, if we have a heat wave this summer (and that is a big IF since there has been little rain for the past four months, and it has to come down at some time), I can look back and count myself lucky that I do not need a roaring fire to keep me warm.

Eldrid

Kicksled

In the comments section of my previous post, there was a question about the English term for “sparkstøtting” .

I posted the question in an online quilting forum, and soon received an answer: kicksled.

When knowing what to look for, I also found an article in Wikipedia about kicksleds.

The spelling can also be kick sledge.

Hurray for quilting communities, – they are always very helpful

Eldrid

Winterland

Happy new year to everybody.

We spent a few days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve visiting family members and extended family.  This involved driving through two counties on snowy and icy roads.

We had some snow over Christmas, and on the day we left to return home, it was snowing even more. My husband was driving this time, so I could spend the 170 kilometer long trip, plus two ferry rides, taking photos.

When driving, the scenery shifts all the time, so I filled my memory card with more than 600 photos. Of course, most of them were rubbish since we could not stop for every scene I wanted to shoot, and also the light was not very good most of the time.

However, I found some that I liked, even though most of them were shot through the windscreen or the side window.

We had some spells of heavy snowing, but early in the day there was a bit of light shining through the cracks in the clouds now and then:

For a large part of this journey, the road is winding along the shores of islands and fjords:

…….. and there are also ferry crossings. This is the first of two:

The combination of snowy landscape and water is quite fascinating:

Soon the road winds upward, – we have to cross a mountain pass:

Luckily there is not a lot of snow yet.

At the top there are fences above the side of the road to prevent the snow from forming large drifts on the road when it is blowing.

It is quite calm when we are driving through, but still many signs are covered with snow, – not easy to decipher what kind of danger we are being warned of here.

As it darkens it can be difficult to determine exactly where the edge of the road is. Any kind of  markings, fences, or vegetation is a great help. We have to drive carefully also because there are farms and houses along parts of the road, and people are out and about on their “sparkstøttings”, or skiing:

Some stretches have tall trees lining the roadside:

……… and some trees are bowing under the weight of the snow:

Small amounts of water trickling down the mountain sides close to the road, form large icicles over time, and in the end looks like frozen waterfalls:

Even though we did not stop to take any of these photos, we still missed the early afternoon ferry for our home island, and had to wait two hours for the next departure.  It was dark when we arrived home:

As it had been snowing for three days while we were away, there was some shovelling to be done before we could walk comfortably through to the house.

Eldrid

Falling….falling…..

It snowed and snowed, – and then it started to rain.  One corner of the railing still has the full amount of snow on it, – but it is starting to keel over.  I wonder if it will melt or fall. 

I guess there are scientific terms for the forces that are preventing the snow from falling, but what are they?  Viscosity?  Elasticity?  Friction?  Hhmm, – maybe I ought to update my knowledge of physics.

Notice the lines of the snow layers?  If this were by the side of a road, they would be in varying shades of brown and grey and would be wavy according to how the various parts of the snow had melted, – so when driving past it would be like looking at one looooong Bargello quilt 

Moon and snow

When I turned off the lights before going to bed the other day,  I suddenly noticed the full moon shining outside.  I grabbed my camera to see if I could capture the mood outside. 

Well, not quite successful, – a camera is just that, – but when looking at the shots, I noticed the coloured ring around the moon.  As kids we were looking out for the ring around the moon since that would mean snow would be coming soon, at that time we thought snow was fun and were looking forward to it. 

The ring still predicts snow, and even though snow is beautiful, somehow it is not as much fun as it used to be, – more of a nuisance, in fact.  It is definitely an age thing.

  But come it did, nevertheless.

Here it is on its way in from the north west, – and this was just the beginning.

There are a few things that I still like about the snow, such as the strong “graphic” created by the contrast between the trees and the snow.  Suddenly there are lots of new lines and shapes right outside my windows.

I played a little with the tree photo:

  

Grayscale

 

Grayscale inverted

Ninepatch trees.

The inverted grayscale tree done in Kaleider.

Endless possibilities.